On the road
by Yurosoku
Summary: Chocobros on the road with Noctis appreciating his brothers.


On the Road…

'All I'm saying is if SOMEONE didn't let off a firearm right into my ear, we wouldn't be having this problem!'.

'Dude, I said I was sorry!'.

' "Sorry" doesn't fix our current predicament, Prompto'.

Noctis lets out a groan of irritation as Ignis plucks another sharp spiky quill from his back, muttering a soft apology for the cause of pain. Laid flat on his stomach with his advisor plucking the quills from his back, the prince of Insomnia had the unfortunate luck of being on the receiving end of a startled Gladiolus' elbow which knocked him in the line of fire of a wild beast's attack.

A simple hunt that had gone horribly wrong, like most of their seemingly easy endeavours, just go and rid an area of pesky vermin and go about their day. Nope. Not so easy for them it seemed. The whole fight should've been very one sided, but because Prompto was as easily spooked as a kitten, IE a sabertusk ambushing him from behind just AFTER he reloaded his firearm.

The attack spooked him so bad he accidentally raised his armed hand up too close to Gladiolus' ears and the shot rang out, startling the poor man so badly he elbows Noctis right in his princely face, staggering him forward in time for a armada of quills to find a new home in the prince's back. They were also poisonous, so that was just final layer of misery to the cake of the day for Noctis.

Thus he finds himself waiting for Ignis to pluck him, clean his wounds and give both shield and friend a stern lecture that only Ignis could give while he was allowed to lay down and sleep…if he could anyways given how much he moves in his sleep.

'Right, last one', the spectacled man says, picking out the final quill from Noctis' back, earning one small groan of discomfort from his liege. 'About time…how many was that? Six?', Noctis groaned, looking over his shoulder to his friend. 'Nine, actually', answered Ignis, breaking a potion over his friend's back, 'You must have blocked the rest out during the removals'. Now if only he could block out Prompto's constant desire to sing the chocobo song…

With his back healed and all that was left are just aches, Noctis was given permission to finally throw on his t-shirt before he'd have to worry about sunburns. 'You've seemed to have lost a bit weight', Ignis says as he organizes their first-aid box while taking note of what they were short on. 'With all the running and fighting I've been doing, you really surprised?', Noctis asked with a smirk. He chuckles back, shaking his head. 'I suppose not. You eat everything else bar vegetables', he stated confidently.

'…I actually hate rice…', Noctis muttered.

'Now that is a downright lie', Ignis said with a slight lecturing tone in his accent, 'I seem to recall a certain prince having three bowls of it the other night'.

Noctis rolled his eyes in response, caught red handed. Still though he looked at his stomach and could see certainly he had lost some weight. Training with Gladiolus certainly destroyed any flab the prince would have, and while he wasn't as bulky as his shield, he had more muscle than his shield teased him about. He shrugs indifferently, happy with his body regardless as he slipped on his t-shirt.

'Should we continue hunting?', Noctis asked, looking back at Ignis putting their little green box back in the pocket dimension. 'After you were turned into a temporary pin cushion?', Ignis asked with teasing smirk, 'Gladio hasn't regained his hearing yet and being deaf in the middle of a fight isn't a very practical state'. The prince grimaced at that, nodding in understanding before he gets to his feet and exits the tent.

Outside in the cool summer breeze of night, the prince spots Gladiolus doing some squats while Prompto kept himself at a very noticeable distance from his taller and far more lethal friend. Likely during his acupuncture session with Ignis, they must have had a discussion on the dangers of close firearms to the ear drums and judging from how Prompto wasn't six feet under, the prince presumes they used words as opposed to action.

Though he couldn't help but notice how dirty and sweaty the two of them looked, bits of dirt on their pants and sand placed on their Crownsguard attires. Gladiolus looked at the prince, before grunting. 'For all his short-comings, that kid's got the legs of a chocobo', he grunted out, resuming his exercise. 'And you are as scary as an angry behemoth when you're chasing somebody!', Prompto replied with a shudder.

Ahh so that's why Noctis didn't hear them argue…

Settling down on a chair as the team's mother figure left the tent to start the dinner, Noctis reclined in his seat with a sigh of relief. Least they had one hunt down, just three more tomorrow in the daylight. 'By the way, how's your jaw?', Gladiolus asked, squatting still. Noctis blinked before remembering what exactly caused him to be in the line of fire, sub-consciously rubbing where the shield's elbow had struck, the dull ache gone. Shrugging, he says: 'Probably healed up earlier with the potion'.

'See? He was fine!', Prompto argued.

'Doesn't mean it should become a regular routine to do harm to his majesty', Ignis chastised, 'Or attempt to deafen his shield'.

'I said sorry!', Prompto pouted.

At dinner, a simple curry with rice and chicken for tonight, they all made small talk about the weeks that has passed them by. From having Cindy show off plans to transform the Regalia into a monster truck (to which Gladiolus was salivating at the thought) and Ignis firmly stating he would never even entertain the idea of driving such a beastly vehicle. Not that Noctis complained, he too would adore the thing like it was his own child.

Another time they brought up was when during their hunts for daemons, how they got lost in the land to find the daemons. By the time the sun had risen for them to face a new day, even Ignis was complaining that it was far too early for them to fight a new day. It was the first time they all agreed together to just do nothing and chill.

Noctis talked about the last time he went fishing and had them all join in for the fun of it. Prompto lasted all of ten minutes before he got so bored he started to take selfies himself fishing, and eventually after nothing nibbled, he handed over the fishing rod to Gladiolus. The shield had much better luck than his friend because he managed to catch a fish himself…that was no bigger than his fist.

The prince chastised playfully that Ignis is the only one who knew how to fish and was greatly appreciated for his patience, to which the man replied that sitting down for hours on end was an easy thing compared to trying to get his future king to eat his vegetables.

With the night settling down, the prince ponders back to the day he had left his home city to take on this journey. Despite the highs and lows they endured, the troubles that pile up on their laps, the days where someone was at somebody else's throats, he truly couldn't find anything that would outweigh the good. This road trip had its grand moments, like how they could spend the day on the road making jokes, bantering until the sun came up, take shots (literally and figuratively with Prompto), and have a good time.

Days out here made him really think on his friends, with Altissia just a few days away from here before he would reunite with Lunafreya. He glanced at them all subtly, smiling.

Gladiolus, his shield and stalwart ally who can be a royal ass to deal with some days, but the raven knew that whenever he's in need that man will always be the first one to defend him, give his ass a good kick and constantly push him to move forward.

As much as he complains about early training, gets frustrated with him, Noctis could not, or ever consider, asking for a better shield.

Ignis, there are no words to describe the level of gratitude the prince had for this man. Even as kids, barely old enough to know what a swear was, that boy had been the big brother he had always wanted. Sure he could be fussy, he could be a bit bossy and a stick in the mud at times yes, but despite that the prince knew all this man ever wants is for Noctis to be happy and safe. The days of their childhood, he was the mother Noctis grew up without, always there when he needed somebody to fall to.

Taking his time to care for his wounded liege and still make a dinner as great as he always does even after a long day like this, truly Noctis appreciated this man for remaining by his side all this time.

Prompto, the only person not a noble or coming from a long line of a family who served the crown. And that was one of the many reasons why Noctis proudly called him his best friend. From that day where he met the pudgy turned skinny boy, he was the first person to ever approach Noctis and act like he was your everyday schoolboy, the first person to make him feel like he wasn't the prince of Insomnia or a person you couldn't approach.

Despite the job requiring a lot more out of him than was initially planned, the blond gunner stayed by his side, always making jokes and always reminding his best friend whatever comes, he wasn't alone.

He listened to Prompto's chatter about anything, while smirking at Gladiolus' jabs and Ignis' dry humour ringing out during their banters. The sounds he had grown so fond of, better than the silence of the night or the sounds of so many voices in a city. As he stirred his food, fondly thinking back to the memories of his time with them, good and not so good, Noctis hummed to himself as he pondered what would come next for them?

'Someone's in a good mood'.

He looked up to see a smirking shield with a bemused Prompto grinning at him, while on his left he felt Ignis' curious eyes on him. Noctis blushed softly when they were eyeing him, before he eat his dinner. 'I-Iggy just made a favourite of mine, can't I appreciate it?', he asked. Truthfully it wasn't even in his top ten list of "Ignis greatest dishes", he just preferred simple and filling meals as opposed to those stupidly expensive ones.

'Sure…', Prompto teased, 'Bet'cha he slipped in some peppers or onions in the curry~'. Noctis glared at his best friend while Ignis subtly smirked at the accusation, making a note to try that in future. 'Shove it…', Noctis ordered with a small glare.

The blond laughs it off none the less as Gladiolus struck up a chat with Ignis about tomorrow's hunt, making suggestions to some of their teamwork. Likely from those samurai books he's been reading of late, while Prompto made the interesting comment on the wooden sandals those of feudal age wore back in the day. Why he suddenly developed an interest in them is beyond the future king, but it kept him off his back so let him explore this undiscovered fascination. Listening to his friends, Noctis lets his smile return to his lips, looking up at the stars in amusement and feels a sense of peace washing over him.

*Next day on the road*

Dawn arrived and for once, nobody had gotten up early to face the day for a nice change. Breakfast was simple and just some cereal that they all liked, Noctis saying it'd give Ignis a break as opposed him making a full breakfast for everyone.

When they all hopped into the car, Ignis started to input the location of the hunt on the Regalia's GPS, but then paused. 'Noct, where do go today?', he asked, not taking his eyes off the device. The prince sits in his seat with pursed lips, before he shrugged.

'Any where's just fine, Ig', he says finally.

'Well if nobody's got an idea…there's this spot near Galdin Quay', Prompto starts as Gladiolus takes his book out. 'It's a bit far though', Noctis remarked. With the ignition on, Ignis replies: 'I'll be fine, lets just enjoy the drive'.

And so they went off, another day together on the road…


End file.
